CrossWired: Homeschool Science for the Next Generation

image of blue & yellow fish in aquarium with text overlay Crosswired Science a Curriculum review by www.CaptivatingCompass.com

CrossWired Science Review: Online Homeschool Science for the Next Generation

I was given a free subscription to 2 unit studies (Sound, and Fluid Dynamics) at CrossWired Science in exchange for a review. All opinions are from our family’s homeschool science experience with this online science curriculum.

Are you hardwired for homeschool science? Maybe it’s gone all haywire (um, that’s us right now) Either way, get ready for CrossWired Science!

Also, are the resources you are using in your homeschool science up to date in their research and point your family to creators intentional design? Until lately it was easy to have the former, and not the later, or vice versa. Get ready to empower your kids with CrossWired Science! Bold science for the next generation in a format so easy to use that you’ll be saying “Thank you, CrossWired Science!” Every day you do homeschool science.

As soon as you finish reading this post you are going to want to head over and check out their sample unit study for yourself.

CrossWired Science’s gorgeous website will have your kids as eager as mine to do science every day. I interviewed both my kids (son aged 10 & daughter aged 13) after they had used CrossWired Science’s curriculum for a few weeks. What I noticed is that CrossWired Science quickly moved into the favorites category, once they got familiar with the dashboard.

Let’s Take a CrossWired Science Tour of The Global Topics for First Timers!

Our access was to Sound, and Fluid Dynamics for First Timers & Second Timers. I’ll focus on First Timers, which is geared toward upper elementary to middle school students.

Videos

Gorgeous, quick, engaging & very informative. The corresponding quizzes right after the video makes for easy comprehension testing. Whether you kids need short bursts of a subject or can focus & enjoy several videos and quiz question sets in a row, CrossWired Science has made it approachable for everyone.

Quizzes & Worksheets

The teacher’s area has all the worksheet answers, so there will be no sneaking a peek at the answers for the kiddos. The worksheets also align with the online quizzes, so if you need to, you can use the printed copies or the online version. The online version gives a score immediately on submitting. These are just general comprehension questions, to make sure they were actually paying attention to the video.

Experiments

Experiment instruction sheets are very well laid out and easy to follow. There are so many! Help your child know which is the appropriate level for their ability. The apple icon with the P in it is suitable for elementary, with the others being more appropriate for upper elementary and middle school as well as high school. These are located in the ‘with helps’ section.

I liked the one about alula feathers because I had never heard of an ”alula” and I was like, ”Hmmm……… I think I should learn about this.”
Ian, age 10

The Bonanza Section of Experiments

It is awesome! In the unit study I looked at (Fluid Dynamics), I was astounded by how many areas of science are affected by this interesting science concept. The unit does a great job of giving ‘Bonanza’ experiments that touch a variety of aspects of science. Every kid will find something that piques their curiosity. There are hours of science fun in the Experiments & Bonanza section. The digital resources (via links in each pdf) give plenty of help for anyone scientifically challenged. Thank you CrossWired Science!

Research

They’ve done a very good job of tieing each unit’s topic into the research area while giving the instructor the freedom to customize and direct the students’ projects. I do like how they give good links for both Christian and secular viewpoints of science. This allows the parent/teacher to guide the student to the best resources for a given interest and perspective while not shying away from differing viewpoints.

General Links

More videos! They’ve collected all the best science videos from across the internet. No more searching for the best, safest video! They have already done that for you!

U-Choose

I think CrossWired Science has big plans for this section. For now, they have given a good introduction to their vision and purpose. I can’t wait to see what they come up with! Thank you CrossWired Science for thinking outside the box and helping homeschool families make creative choices for add-on science activities.

Reinforcement

Forget writing boring science reports! CrossWired Science has collected so many great ideas and resources for every learning style. Find what makes your little Einstein get excited about science and then grab the tools and resources here to reinforce the learning.

image of monthly planner from CrosswiredScience.com

Field trip

Science field trips can be in every shape and size! Enjoy learning as a family or plan something for the whole co-op or learning community! CrossWired Science has got some great ideas to get your creative field trip juices flowing. It’s so hard to just choose one!

Reading

Science reading is just another way of learning. It’s a great way to help absorb information and lock it into long-term memory. They’ve pulled together some great resources and have thoughtfully considered what is best and where to find it. Perfect for families needing to share a computer amongst kids. Have some kids work on reading projects while others are doing their online work.

Sci-Devotional & Teen Devotional

Yep! Yep! Yep! I’m loving CrossWired Science devotionals. This mama looks for every opportunity for kids to dig deeper into their faith journey while learning. Science is a tricky, mental (and spiritual) wrestling match sometimes. Thank you CrossWired Science for always keeping faith at the center of science.

Parent/Teacher Dashboard

It’s pretty simple and straight forward. Thanks for keeping is simple, CrossWired Science! This homeschool science mama really appreciates it! There are just a couple of improvements I might recommend.

Perhaps a key to know which unit the 2-letter code corresponds to would be helpful. But other than that, it’s a simple tool to keep track of what everyone has done and their progress in a unit.
I appreciated the general course guide, found in the Parent/Teacher dashboard. It would be really useful to have it was also in an area the kids have access to. It doesn’t quite line up with the order of things laid out on the Unit page, with the videos. Having the kids follow the order online is simple enough. The videos progress nicely. Independent learners could easily follow either plan for each unit/module. Just agree on one way to follow to avoid confusion and frustration.

Thank You CrossWired Science!

For hours of science fun in the Experiments & Bonanza section.
For a bold science curriculum for the next generation in a format.
For thinking outside the box and helping homeschool families make creative choices for add-on science activities.
For making this science so affordable!
For always keeping faith at the center of science.

What I can’t believe is that this homeschool science curriculum is only $28 a year for the first child and then only $10 for each additional child’s account! I haven’t found any quality, digital, science resource like this anywhere at that price. Thank you CrossWired Science for making this resource so affordable!

Sign Up Today

From where I’m standing, there are so many reasons to choose CrossWired Science for your online homeschool science curriculum! When I look at my list of what I want from a homeschool science curriculum, CrossWired Science ticks all the boxes, and then some!

Watch your sample videos here. Try out your sample unit here, and find out how affordable science curriculum can be! You might even want to head over here and read a few more reviews about Cosswired Science.